Breathless
by AgressiveNegotiations
Summary: Traveling is a lot harder when your companion refuses to talk to you.


**Back for the dead, kids! Finally guilt tripped myself enough to sit down and write something new. So lets get this out of the way before you ask. I am basing the courier character completely on my own courier from Fallout- New Vegas. From everything down to her reactions, appearance, and even her name. (lol Yeah, I named my courier after myself =P) And yes, that means she's gonna be a good karma goodie-two shoes.**

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! And remember to review! Love you guys!**

**All rights belong to Bethesda and Obsidian... blah blah blah...**

She hated Freeside.

It was covered in trash and debris from long ago. The air stank was a familiar odor of booze, drugs, and sex. Children chased giant rats around with butcher knives for dinner. Thugs roamed the alleys, waiting for innocent bystanders they could mug, rape, or kill. Everyone had a weapon, and everyone was ready to use it at any moment's notice. Not exactly her cup of tea. And she was never one to keep her opinion quiet.

"This place sucks." the courier muttered under her breath. She knew she was only talking to herself, though. Her newly gained companion never paid any mind to what she was saying, little lone ever commenting on her constant chatter. She had figured he would have warmed up to her by the time they reached New Vegas, but so far the only thing he had said since they left Novac was "You're going the wrong way."

She'd be lying if she said it didn't bother her. Not that she has always been the most charming of people, but hell… the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. He never asked where they were going. He never asked why she was trying to get there. He hadn't even asked her name. Was he like this to everyone? Or did she just play the bitch-card a little too fiercely upon their meeting. She ran through their first conversation in her head again, seeking an answer.

* * *

><p><em>"Goddamn it! Don't sneak up on me like that! What do you want?" he growled.<em>

_"Expecting visitors?" she said casual with a half-smile._

_"Yeah, I guess maybe I am. But not like you." He paused and added "Huh, maybe it should've been you I was expecting all along. Why are you here?"_

_Choosing to discard his obvious aggression towards her, she simply raised a delicate eyebrow and said "If you're looking for someone in particular, I could tip you off if I see them."_

_His muscles tensed. "Yeah, well, you see anybody wearing Legion crimson or a lot of sports equipment, you just let me know. But you still haven't answered my question."_

_"Just checking out the view."_

_"I think you'd better leave."_

_Of course. This made him about the 10th person that day to kick her out of someplace. She raised her hands up in defense. "Just making friendly conversation."_

_His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses "I don't have friends here."_

_Damn. He was good. "Well I'm not from here." She said placing her hands on her hips in her signature "don't fuck with me" pose._

_"No. No you're not, are you? Maybe you shouldn't go. Not just yet."_

_What the hell…?_

_"Are you going to try and kill me?" she bluntly said, only half joking._

_"Not unless you give me a reason." He looked up with what seemed like the outer workings of a smile. "I need someone I can trust. You're a stranger, there's a start."_

_"What do you want me to do?"_

_"I want you to find something out for me. I don't know if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try." He sighed, and the courier leaned her head in as a sign she was listening. "My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come, what route to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who."_

_Suddenly more sympathetic to the man than she was frustrated at him, she crossed her arms as if she could feel his pain. "You're trying to track down your wife?"_

_"My wife is dead. I wasn't the son of a bitch who sold her."_

_"What do I do if I find this person?"_

_"Bring him out in front of the nest here while I'm on duty. I work nights. I'll give you my NCR beret to put on. It'll be our signal, so I know you're standing with him. And I'll take care of the rest. I need to do this myself. "_

_She looked down to break his gaze, feeling like a child who had eavesdropped on a conversation they never should have heard. "I'll see what I can do to help you out."_

_He nodded and took off his red beret, revealing his military shaved head. Out of the few men she had seen sporting it, he definitely pulled it off best. "Good. I'll make it worth your while. And one more thing, we shouldn't speak again. Not until it's over. No one in town knows that I know what happened to my wife. Best they never know. Or the Legion will be after me next."_

_She sighed in agreement, taking the beret from his hands. It felt warm against her skin still cold from the conversation. With that, she said goodbye and turned to leave._

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

_"You bitch." She growled looking down at the yellowed paper in her trembling hands. "You heatless bitch."_

_How a woman could betray another and sell her as property was completely unfathomable to her. She knew what Carla would face. She knew what a slave's life was like. Yet she sealed her unfortunate fate anyway. Part of the courier knew she needed to go back to the dinosaur to show the sniper the receipt, while the other half dreaded the thought of putting on the beret and watching Jeannie May's death, as that bitch had done to Carla. She wasn't like Jeanie May. She couldn't know someone's death was on her hands and not give it a second thought. But the fact was, Jeannie May was too dangerous to be kept alive. First Carla, next some innocent town citizen who never saw it coming. She was carefully folding the paper to fit in her pocket when she heard the jingling of keys in the door._

_"Shit!" the courier whispered to herself, desperately trying to close the safe at her feet. It was filled with useless items of various sorts, and they were much harder to fit back into the safe than they were to remove from it. She could hear the tumblers turning in the keyhole. The turning gears sounded like the ticking of a timed bomb._

_"Please! Please! Come on!" Each moment she was closer to getting caught. Finally, with all her strength she slammed the safe door and sprinted over to the door, right as Jeannie May Crawford walked in._

_"Oh! Hello dearie! What's wrong? You look like a mess!"_

_"Me? Oh, nothing!" the courier forced a sweet smile to calm suspicion._

_"Well what on Earth are you doing in here? The door was locked!" Hopefully she hadn't noticed that one of her two keys to the building was missing._

_"Really?" she said as collected as possible. "Not when I came in. I must have accidently locked it when I shut the door." Jeannie May raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when the courier cut her off. "But I came here to find you. Come with me. There is something in front of the dinosaur you need to see."_

_"Okay, if that's what you think." She said happily and turned away. The courier followed behind at a far distance, wondering if she had any clue what was about to happen. The moon shone down, making Jeannie May's silver hair glow. She stopped right in front, looking around expectantly. The courier followed behind slowly. "Now what's this all about, dear?"_

_She took a deep breath and nonchalantly glanced at the sniper's nest. She could see the top of a rifle. Reluctantly, she pulled the beret out of her shoulder bag._

_"I'm sorry." She whispered like the wind as she lifted the beret onto her head._

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

_"So that's it then. How did you know?" His voice was even quieter than when they first spoke._

_"I… found the bill of sale." The words sounded ugly in her mouth. Like something your mother would wash out with soap._

_"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It'd be like them to keep paperwork. Here." He handed her 100 bottle caps, which she hesitantly took."This is all I can give. I think our dealings are done here."_

_That's it? After all that, he just looked at her and said our dealings are done? "What will you do now?"_

_"I don't know. I won't be staying, I know that. Don't see much point in anything right now, except hunting legionaries. Maybe I'll wander, like you."_

_Damn it. She ignored her conscious barking orders inside her head. Don't listen, damn it! Stay strong! You don't need to put anyone else's life in danger! Don't- STOP!_

_"Come with me. Let's go after the Legion."_

_Shit. Awesome job screwing that up._

_"You don't want to do that." Oh, now he did it. If there was one thing the courier didn't take, it was being told what to do._

_"I thought snipers worked in teams." She said smugly._

_"Hmm. Yeah. Working on your own you're a lot less effective. I've been there and paid for it. But this isn't going to end well." He sighed and looked down for a moment. Then, they traced back up to hers. She could see them behind the sunglasses now, deep and blue as what she imagined a clean ocean would look like. They were sad, but still manage t make her smile._

_"Nothing with me ever does."_

_"Fine. Let's get out of here. "_

* * *

><p>So there meeting wasn't exactly routine. But she thought she had made a good enough impression, as good as you can when put in that position. Apparently it wasn't enough, though. She continued to muse over this, until a voice broke her train of thought.<p>

"Hello?" Boone said, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"Hmm?" Her head snapped up, suddenly realizing that he was talking to her.

"I said are you going to keep staring at me the whole way?" She hadn't even realized she had been gawking at him subconsciously while in thought. Suddenly embarrassed, she looked down to evade his eyes. He had the ability to make her uncomfortable, something only few people possessed.

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled under her breath, looking at her feet.

"I never caught your name."

She looked up like a wide eyed puppy. For a moment her mind went blank. What? Where did this come from? Name? Name… what's my name? She hated that he made her so edgy.

Seeing her surprise, he explained. "Well I can't call you 'Courier'"

"Caroline." She said, suddenly remembering what he asked for.

And for the first time since they had traveled together, he attempted a smile... leaving her breathless. "So Caroline, where are we going?"


End file.
